A conventional communication system typically includes two tributaries connected across a communication connection such as a subscriber loop associated with a public-switched-telephone-network (PSTN). The communication connection includes a pair of twisted wires terminated by the two tributaries so that the two tributaries may communicate with each other in either half-duplex or full-duplex communications.
Conventional tributaries include transceivers, such as modems, to receive and transmit data. These transceivers include a voltage driver which has a low source impedance to drive the communication signal across the connection. Consequently, bridging additional voltage-driven tributaries to an end of the communication connection significantly loads the connection making it difficult to successfully communicate across the connection.
As a result of the difficulty of bridging multiple voltage-driven tributaries to the connection, prior art systems typically increase the number of connections so that each tributary at a customer premises is serviced by a separate communication connection. The insertion of additional connections into the system increases the overall cost of the system, particularly when the connection is a subscriber loop associated with a PSTN.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for providing a system and method of bridging multiple communication devices to an end of a communication connection without substantially increasing the load carried by the connection.